Here’s a very cool twist from the camp of the very excellent music documentary, “Scott Walker: 30 Century Man,” which charts the elusive career of one of rock’s most enigmatic figures.
Instead of simply putting out a Scott Walker soundtrack that acts as a greatest hits collection (thought that would be good for the uninitiated but is a legal quagmire) of his orchestral and moody noir romance songs, Lakeshore records has found a creative alternate route and are releasing a tribute album but it’s certainly not one of those carelessly tossed-off inspired by the film soundtracks we generally loathe.
With rights to original Walker songs being an uphill battle, Lakeshore Records chief Brian McNellis proposed a tribute record and then ’30 Century Man’ director Stephen Kijak reached out to musicians he knew were Walker fans but couldn’t include in the original film, but with another twist being a female take on the singer’s dark tenor voice.
“The idea was to get mainly women to interpret Scott’s songs,” Kijak told The Playlist. “A lot of male singers try to take on The Croon and just can’t do it he’s just got such a specific and amazing voice. The two that attempted it on the album (Damon of Damon and Naomi and Peter Broderick) totally nailed it, made it very much their own. It’s a great collection, I’m really thrilled with how it turned out.”
The album, which is due digitally via iTunes on April 21 and physically in stores on April 28, features Scott Walker covers by fans like post-modern synth artist Laurie Anderson (who we actually sat next to when we saw the film’s debut at Tribeca in 2007), moody indie duo Damon & Naomi, U.K. indie dance act Saint Etienne, evocative shoegazy British singer Dot Allison, German electronic artist Ulrich Schnauss and many, many more.
The soundtrack leads the awareness on all things Scott Walker as the DVD will be released June 16 via Oscilloscope films. If you don’t know who Walker is you should probably run to your closest record store right now. Fans and tastemakers who are featured in the film offering glowing testimonials of his work include David Bowie – also an executive producer of the film– members of Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Eno , Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy), Marc Almond, Alison Goldfrapp, Sting, Johnny Marr (The Smiths) and many more.
“Scott Walker – 30 Century Man” tracklist
01. Duchess – Peter Broderick
02. Big Louise – Sally Norvell
03. The World’s Strongest Man – Damon & Naomi
04. Manhattan – Saint Etienne
05. The Electrician – Laurie Anderson
06. The Seventh Seal – Nicole Atkins
07. Montague Terrace (In Blue) – Dot Allison
08. The Bridge – Bee & Flower
09. Rhymes Of Goodbye – Stephanie Dosen
10. It’s Raining Today – Ulrich Schnauss
11. A Lover Loves – Jarboe
12. Such A Small Love – Little Annie & Paul Wallfisch
Here’s the trailer to “Scott Walker: 30 Century Man”
“Funeral Tango”
“Black Sheep Boy”
Scott Walker performing “Mathilde”